First, I pay tribute to the school, the dedication of the teachers and management, the nuns, parents and pupils all of whom are a credit to Mount Carmel secondary school or, as it is known locally, Kings Inn Street.
It is the only second level girls school, to my knowledge, in the north inner city, concentrating almost exclusively on girls from the most disadvantaged communities in that very disadvantaged part of our capital city. The school has the following urgent requirements: extensive repairs to parapets and copings for spawling of concrete is causing a serious and potentially dangerous situation; new windows are needed for the assembly hall, basement and other key areas; the installation of heating in the basement and an overhaul of the entire heating system, which at present is inadequate, given the size of the building; an overhaul of the water system, plus installation of wash-hand basins, sinks, etc., in the basement and technology room; an upgrading of the electrical services which are inadequate and in some cases, unsafe, and a restoration of play spaces on the flat roofs.
In 1980, according to the school records, the school spent over £27,000 on building alterations, plus 20 per cent of the total cost of all furniture fixtures for all specialist rooms, plus professional fees. Given the school's current financial position there is no possibility whatever of this school financing the items listed above.
The school has an excellent assembly hall, which is used daily for a variety of activities, but it is the coldest area in the school. The windows are the original 1941 models and many of the steel casements are warped, resulting in freezing temperatures. This causes great hardship to pupils, teachers and parents.
The play space at ground level is totally inadequate for the numbers and the roof play spaces are unsafe. Central heating for the basement is an urgent requirement as this area houses the home school centre, the typing room and changing rooms. The home school teacher is a most enthusiastic member of staff who makes great efforts to welcome parents into the centre. This is not helped by the unsuitability of the area through inadequate heating. Every room in the main building is in use so that there is no other place for a parents' centre. Already, typing classes are held in the basement due to a lack of space in the main building.
Mount Carmel is the only girls' secondary school serving the north inner city, from where they draw the majority of their pupils. In a disadvantaged area there are no prospects of raising adequate funding to cover costs for items such as those I have listed. The majority of parents are already struggling to exist because of unemployment. Despite this, the school and parents make great efforts at fund raising; I was happy to be present recently at one such event in the school.
With a pupil enrolment of 308 at September 1993 the capitation grant is not adequate to cover the running costs of the school. The school is struggling continuously to pay day to day bills and for services. This means they are already restricted in what they can offer by way of extra-curricular activities for their pupils. In a disadvantaged area it is necessary to offer incentives to pupils to remain in education for the sake of future job opportunities. The Minister would agree that all our young people deserve equal opportunities where education is concerned. This school will be unable to reach that ideal without the help of the Department of Education. I hope the Minister can respond positively to this school's urgent request.
I pay particular tribute to this school. Many schools in the inner city of Dublin have similar problems and make similar sacrifices in trying to provide children in that area with the education they deserve, but this school stands out. It is dedicated at second level almost exclusively to children from very disadvantaged communities, from Sherrif Street, Ballybough, Seán MacDermott Street, Dorset Street and Dominick Street. Much of that area includes local authority housing and 80 per cent of the parents are existing on social welfare and enduring massive social problems. Here is a school trying to give some hope for the future to the girls who attend it. They desperately need this assistance and I hope the Minister can respond positively today.
